In fact, if there is no so-called primogeniture inheritance system, Zhu Di is actually the best heir to the throne.
The rulers of Daming especially believed in Confucianism, believing that "the elder and the young were orderly", so even if Zhu Di had the talent, hindered by confucian etiquette, Zhu Yuanzhang could not pass on the throne to him, but gave the eldest son Zhu Biao, who had a more cowardly and kind personality.
Zhu Yuanzhang was a relatively sharp person, and in the Ming Dynasty, being an official was more miserable, because there were very few Feng Lu, and the king of the clan was different, and the salary of the king of the clan was very rich.
Zhu Yuanzhang is a person with no background, he started from scratch and did not have any family power to help him, so he relied on his brothers to achieve great things, and the great cause of zhenshou relied on his family. This is the most ingrained concept after the ancient small-scale peasant consciousness was developed - outsiders who have family relatives, once something happens, they are still their own family. Among these families, the closest is not their cousins and uncles, but their own sons.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there was such a rule: the crown prince would give him a large amount of gold treasures, ten thousand stones, and the guards would also be equipped with at least three thousand, and at most nine thousand, all of whom were subordinate to the military department. In the first class of the next heaven, the ministers should pay homage to him, and Hugh was rude.
Zhu Di summed up in his heart, staying in the imperial court was not cost-effective, not only did he have no money to take, but he was also guarded against going, it was better to go to the fiefdom, and he could also cultivate his own forces by the way. Zhu Di didn't think so much at first, nor did he think that he would be the future emperor, what he thought most about was the immediate interests and his own security.
Emperor Tiangao was far away, safer for him in Beijing than in Nanjing.
When Zhu Di was in Beiping, he was only 20 years old, he was a very young prince, he was also very talented in military, during his time in the town, he participated in some military activities in the north, such as subduing the Mongol Nai'er No Flower, etc., in the training of real gun combat, his wings gradually became full.
Heaven forbid Zhu Yuanzhang, although he experienced the scenery when he was young and killed such a powerful enemy as Chen Youyu, he became a lonely man in his later years, not only did Zhu Biao die, but also the heirs to the throne he valued left him. Therefore, he could only choose Zhu Yunjiao, the eldest grandson of the emperor, as the emperor, which was also what he had been looking forward to.
At that time, a "good imperial grandson" asked him to choose Zhu Yunjiao, in his heart, sooner or later, the throne was to pass to his most beloved grandson, but he needed the King of Yan, and only the King of Yan could help him defend Beijing and resist the Mongol attack.
The more Zhu Yuanzhang used Zhu Di, the heavier his vigilance became, and he wanted Zhu Di to help Zhu Yunjiao resist the Mongol Iron Horse, but he was also afraid that he was too powerful and Zhu Yunjiao could not suppress it, so as soon as Zhu Yuanzhang decided on the imperial throne, he immediately planted a lot of internal traitors around Zhu Di and secretly monitored Zhu Di.
Later, Zhu Yuanzhang's selected eyeliner also left him, Zhu Yuanzhang fell completely ill, and when he was dying, he called his cronies and said a vague word, he gasped and grabbed the hands of his cronies, and tried to say four words, he said: King Yan is ill.
It is obvious that the Yan King must be eradicated, the disease, the eradication, and the Chinese script is still broad and profound. Zhu Yunjiao also heard this last word, but he did not react, in his kind mind may think that no one will be a bad person, he will not think that Zhu Di will harm him, after all, Zhu Di is his relative.
With the issuance of Emperor Jianwen's order to cut the domain, and the King of Yan had Yao Guangxiao constantly stirring up and advising, he finally decided to oppose. Rebellion was risky, but Zhu Di was undoubtedly lucky, and he succeeded in one fell swoop.
So who is Yao Guangxiao?
Yao Guangxiao is a smart man. At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang had Liu Bowen and Zhu Di had Yao Guangxiao.
This Yao Guangxiao saw at a glance the flaws within Emperor Jianwen—the chancellor was in harmony with him, and there were many contradictions between them. That is to say, if Zhu Di really started an incident, as long as the price was appropriate, the ministers had no reason to die of "loyalty to the king", and they were also "loyal" anyway.
Zhu Di learned the strategy of Zhu Yuanzhang's step-by-step battalion and launched a crazy suicide attack on Beijing, and sure enough, the Central Army collapsed without a fight, and the pony entrusted by Zhu Yuanzhang with heavy responsibilities was a waste, and as a result, Zhu Di ascended to the throne without suspense.
In the end, Zhu Di opened the prosperous Yongle era, and Zhu Yunjiao was unaccounted for in a fire, which became a regret for eternity.
History is like this, kings are defeated, the distribution of morality in history has never been fair, the strong are kings, and history has no real fairness.